Americans rely on tape to complete their gift wrapping, but
auto designers use it to perfect vehicle styling

DEARBORN, MI--Feb. 10, 2014: Ford designers and modelers communicate with each other by placing tape
on clay vehicle models to mark where details need to be refined

Tape is a critical tool in the design process that leads to development
of any new vehicle. It provides precision and a life-size visual that
cannot be replicated, despite advancements in digital technology

Tape is not just for wrapping presents. Ford designers rely on low-tech
tape to hone the styling of any new vehicle.

The design process of a vehicle is a long and artistic journey that
begins with designers sketching ideas on paper. From there, the team moves
to scaled-down clay models and 3D CAD drawings, eventually milling
full-size clay vehicles to analyze body styling options. Clay is the ideal
material for vehicle models as it allows the modelers to carve away or add
lines and accents. Ford designers refine the surface language to make a
vehicle that is appealing to customers.

As clay prototypes of new vehicles are created, designers take tape to
the malleable material to show modelers the lines they want perfected on
the car. Designers and modelers use tape this way to communicate with each
other throughout the design process of all Ford cars and trucks.

“Great design is about proportions,” said Kemal Curic, Ford
exterior design manager. “From the beginning, we need to focus on
creating the right structural lines – the skeleton of the car. Then
our job is to tailor the vehicle body to enhance the figure. This is a
process of editing every single line to find the perfect balance of concave
and convex angles. We achieve this on the clay model, and tape is what we
use to decide which lines to move.”

For vehicle designers, tape is its own language. Even with modern 3D
digital imaging, automakers still rely on clay to sculpt and mold vehicles
as the design develops. Tape brings a measure of precision to a process
that results in a life-size 3D visual that cannot be duplicated on a
computer screen, complementing the digital process.

“Tape gives us a defined line that is like a carpenter laying a
level line on a building,” said Larry Pelowski, Ford master modeler,
exterior design. “So when the designers put tape on the model, there
is no question what their intent is.”

Tape offers both precision and artistry unmatched by other tools, said
Pelowski. He explains it is a flexible material that can be retaped over
and over again until the designers find the line they want to pursue. A
tape line maintains the integrity of the width of the line; this is
especially important when drawing a line with an arch that might otherwise
be difficult to keep at a consistent size.

Artistry with tape is not a new phenomenon; auto designers once drew
entire vehicles with the malleable adhesive.

“Tape was the medium of choice for creating life-size
drawings,” said Garen Nicoghosian, Ford exterior design manager.
“They’d stretch Mylar on large boards and do a full-size tape
drawing, which captured the essence of the car. The idea of tape drawings
has evolved over time; we’ve integrated digital media now, and have
technology that allows us to view full-size models based on CAD data, on
very large display screens. In the past, tape was used because it was the
first opportunity to see a full-size vehicle, it was the best way to draw
accurate lines on a 1:1 scale.

“Today, the artistry of tape continues, but we use it primarily on
clay models,” he adds.

How much tape does Ford use every year? Plenty. If one were to stretch
the black tape used on clay models by the Ford design team, there’d
be about 155 miles of tape a year.

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